julies

I will be doing a hiking tour in Japan, and the tour ends with 2 nights and 1.5 days in Kyoto where we'll be staying at the Nohga Kiyomizu. With the group we'll do an evening walk in Gion, and there will be a day time walking tour that includes the Sanjo-ohasha bridge, Nanzenji, the Philosopher's Path and the Silver Pavilion.

I want to see more of Kyoto and plan to have additional days there, but for a number of reasons I will be adding these days on before the tour. My big question is area to stay in. I will have 3 nights and 2.5 days on my own (and I'll be jetlagged since I am coming from the US). I am not a shopper, and I don't go out for fancy meals; in fact, I would be just as happy in the evening with a bottle of wine and a decent take-out meal in my room (no need for nightlife either). I like to walk but much prefer walking in interesting or scenic areas rather than just business areas. I have found from past experiences that I don't want to be in the heart of tourist central as long as I can pretty easily reach the attractions and areas I want to stay. I don't need a super fancy hotel with lots of services and a gym etc., but I do want a place where there is front desk staff I can ask questions of. If necessary I could pay up to $250 but would much prefer to keep it lower than that.

Here is my super long list of places I would potentially be interested in visiting (I know I'd be lucky to do 1/2 of these). Based on this, can you give me some suggested areas to stay in? Thanks so much.Southeast
Southern Higashiyama
Northern Higashiyama
Central
Northwest
Arashiyama

curiousgeo

A couple of quick suggestions. Fushimi Inari is open 24 hours I believe, best to go very early in the morning or maybe an hour before sunset to avoid large crowds. The bamboo grove in Arashiyama is generally packed, a nice alternative is Take no Michi in western Kyoto Muko district, 30 minutes from central Kyoto. A much more tranquil experience.

julies

I appreciate the tips on visiting these sights, especially because this will be in the fall during peak tourist season. I will definitely look into the alternative to the Bamboo Grove.

Anyone with thoughts on preferred location/s to stay?

Reading54

I follow a Japanese couple's YouTube channel because the wife makes Japanese cooking look easy.

Two months ago, they went to Kyoto for a few days and stayed at an onsen hotel called
Hotel NONO Kyoto Shichijo
御宿 野乃 京都七条
https://www.hotespa.net/hotels/nono_kyoto/english.html

Take a look to see if you like the set up. I think having an onsen available is always a plus.
Location-wise, it is walking distance to Kyoto station.

On a recent trip to Kyoto, I stayed at Hotel Granvia Kyoto, on top of the Kyoto station. It is a huge hotel. We were a group of 8, with 4 needing a large family room, so that was what we wanted. But since you are in a group of one, a smaller hotel may suit you better.

mrwunrfl

Best location is probably Higashiyama-ku given that your list includes Northern Higashiyama, Southern Higashiyama, and Southeast.

Nohga Kiyomizu Hotel is right in the middle of that. It is in your budget. There is a bus stop nearby. It is 500 m from Kiyomizu-Gojō Station on the Keihan Main Line which runs north-south.

go to google.com, enter the following and click on the maps
Higashiyama to see the district

On the following maps, click on the transit icon. Click on "Leave now" to adjust the time.
kyoto station to nohga hotel kiyomizu
nohga hotel kiyomizu to fushimi inari

The last map would show the 8 min walk to the Keihan station, 7 min train ride, and 4 min walk to Fushimi Inari

This page has descriptions of what is nearby the stations on the line
The Keihan Main Line – Keihan Electric Railway – Kyoto Station
this is not a JR train.

The map for kyoto station to nohga hotel kiyomizu
shows that you take this bus:
Shiei (municipal bus) 206 (Higashiyama Dori/Kita Oji Bus Terminal Yuki)
get off at the Gojozaka stop
and then walk 3 min to Nohga Kiyomizu Hotel
the walk is a bit south and then west - you go back in the direction that the bus came from (Hiroshiyama Temple on your right) and turn right at the corner.

Here are the bus stops. You start at Kyoto Eki mae which literally means in front of Kyoto train station.
(eki = station and mae= in front of)

Kyoto Eki mae

市営２０６甲Shiei 206 (Higashiyama Dori/Kita Oji Bus Terminal Yuki)
15 min (7 stops)
9:35 AM

Karasuma Nanajo

9:37 AM

Nanajo Kawaramachi

9:39 AM

Nanajo Keihan mae

9:40 AM

Hakubutsukan Sanjusangendo mae

9:42 AM

Higashiyama Nanajo

9:44 AM

Umamachi

Service run by 京都市交通局
9:46 AM

Gojozaka

mrwunrfl

Just to be clear, the instructions are:
- go to google.com
- enter the following:
kyoto station to nohga hotel kiyomizu
- click on the map link
- click on transit icon
- adjust time as necessary

same for:
nohga hotel kiyomizu to fushimi inari

and then you can enter other destinations like Nijo Castle to see your options for getting there from nohga kiyomizu
you can also start typing in a different origin

mrwunrfl

All of that was to show how you don't need an English-speaking hotel staff to find your way around.

ChgoGal

Not a Kyoto expert at all--only been twice--but my family and I were in Kyoto for a few days back in May, and after factoring the needs of my group of 6 (teens up to an 82 year old--4 of whom had never been before), I chose to stay near Kyoto Station to be near buses and the trains. The central bus terminal/stands were across the street, so was easy to get to the temples we wanted.

The hotel Granvia is inside the station, but we stayed at the Hotel New Hankyu across the street, right by Kyoto Tower. Getting a cooked/decent take-out meal isn't as easy as you'd think if you don't speak the language. If you stay near the station, there are restaurants underneath the station in a section they call “porta dining.” It’s a long corridor of restaurants. At the New Hankyu, a starbucks is a block away and a Dawson convenience store across the street, which was helpful.

It is a commercial center, but I don't know what might be considered tourist-central except for the temples themselves, especially near Kiyomizudera. I get that you want a more local vs. tourist experience, but as a tourist, I do think you'll be less frustrated near the station. I speak/read at a conversational-level, and found Kyoto to be harder to communicate in than Tokyo (or Okinawa, actually).

We had big crowds at the temples, too, being the end of May, and sharing the sites with busloads of class trips. Don't let that deter from any place you want to see. Fushimi Inari is extraordinary--crowds or no. My brother, a photographer, went early in the morning, but the group went around sunset. There were people, of course, but everyone is very respectful of personal space and picture-taking, so we had a nice time.

Also, with 2.5 days, I wouldn't want to push myself to see more than 2 sites a day. I didn't think Kiyomizu-dera was as spectacular as Kinkaku-ji and Fushimi-Inari. Sanjusangen-do is remarkable, though. I'm learning I'm a slow traveller though, as I enjoy reading signage and contemplating the history of a place when that information is available. Unfortunately, many of the temples have little information, so it's better to read about the site beforehand.

Your trip sounds wonderful. Have fun planning!

curiousgeo

Some good advice being provided by ChgoGal and mrwnrfl. One thing to keep in mind as you formulate your itinerary is the time it takes to get from place to place in Kyoto and the distances you have to walk within some of the sites themselves.

julies

I've been away for a couple days and am impressed with all of the detailed responses. Thank you so much.

I am really going to have to think through all of this advice from you experienced people. You brought up lots of things that I never would have thought of. I know absolutely zero Japanese other than hello, good-bye and thank you. For all I keep reading about how Japan is an easy destination for an experienced traveler, this is starting to feel a bit more intimidating. And, it's really good to know that the way destinations are spread throughout the metro I shouldn't count on seeing too many per day.

ChgoGal

Don't mean to scare you at all! Luckily, we found the Japanese to be very courteous and patient. As for ordering food at restaurants, I didn't mean to make it sound impossible, but often there are ticket machines to order (and you can use something like google translate w/your camera to translate), and other culture differences like buttons on the table to call the waitstaff to come take your order & bring your bill. They may not approach automatically like in the US. Larger restaurants may have an English-language menu, too. In any case, you won't starve. The convenience stores are fantastic.

mrwunrfl

>> starting to feel a bit more intimidating

Why? Kyoto is the most tourist-experienced city in Japan. They get a lot of foreign tourists and you know the most common foreign language that Japanese have learned. Ok, maybe not learned very well by most, but tourist-facing people have to deal with it. (I have read that people understand written English better than spoken). Tourist concerns are common, so the vocabulary workers need to know is not very large.

Kyoto is not that big. Stuff is spread out, so it is worthwhile to study a map, learn the transit system. But, it is small enough to do what I did in Kyoto and take taxis, walk, and an occasional subway. IME, many taxi
drivers are not that bright, but in any case it would be a good to have your destination written down or have hotel staff give directions to the driver.

A lot of ticketing is done by machines and you can choose a language. At a JR station you can go to a seat reservation counter and the staff, seeing a lot of tourists, would be able to help you in English. If you go to a ticket window the agent will probably know some "railway Engrish". That is what I call it. They should know what "limited express" means, for example, and understand when you mispronounce your destination (like saying "key oh toe').

You go to the front desk and say "I need more bath towels' That is a common request in that setting and is helped along by the fact that you used a borrowed word "taoru". pronounced "ta o ru"

You will see a lot of signage in English (and, these days, Korean and Chinese). You will see electronic signs flip between Japanese and English. Announcements in Japanese and English.
"welcome to the shinkansen. this is the nozomi superexpress bound for Shin-Osaka. The next stop is Kyoto".

I would expect that the bus 206 that I mentioned above would show the final destination of the bus in English and Japanese and that you would here "the next stop is Gojozaka'

mrwunrfl

I think you saved me some time. I was talking to a coworker yesterday about her very recent one-week trip to Japan. She described the place where they stayed in Kyoto but forgot the name. I was going to try to find it this morning but I think that Hotel Nono must be it. The spa info is exactly what she described. So is the location.

They walked to the place and she was unhappy doing that with luggage and being tired, She insisted on taking a taxi back. I was very surprised that she said the taxi driver complained about the short distance and said they should have walked (a couple mins before she said that i had claimed that taxi drivers wouldn't complain about short trips

ChgoGal

Also, must add, I love Kyoto. You will discover so many wonderful things, and see beautiful landscapes. Just don't beat yourself up if you can't see every recommended temple on your list. The quality of your experience matters, not the quantity of experiences.

Also, if you find yourself in the neighborhood of the Ball & Chain shop in Kyoto, those are some really cute bags that aren't too pricey and would make for fun gifts. Ball&Chain KYOTO
I tried to put in a google map link but it was rejected. So you you google 'shop list' and ball-chain(dot)com, it should bring it up for you.

curiousgeo

Great advice to appreciate and enjoy the experience that is Kyoto. You will have a great time no matter what you decide to see there as you have done your research of what interests you. No need to stress unnecessarily.

julies

Deep down I know that what is intimidating is the use of the kanji alphabet which I know absolutely nothing about. In countries that use the roman alphabet where I don't speak the language I can at least write something down and figure out what it means. (I have visited other Asian countries who have their own alphabets, but I wasn't all by myself.)

mrwunrfl

Ok, then don't try to read the Japanese stuff. Just read the English stuff.

You will probably be handed an English menu. If someone hands you a Japanese language menu then you can indicate that you can't read it. You can say "English menu please" in English.

>> In countries that use the roman alphabet
In Japanese that is called romaji.The Japanese word for English (language) is "Eigo"
very roughly pronounced "eggo" or, or better "aigo"

ChgoGal mentioned:
>> you can use something like google translate w/your camera to translate

There are also voice and text translators for cell phones. You would need wifi, sim, or esim to get to the internet. [i imagine there is a downloadable dictionary / phrasebook app]

If you don't have that then the Japanese person can likely do that. A woman used her phone to explain to me how long it would take to repair the tear in my bag. She spoke and then showed me the English translation.

mrwunrfl

>> I know absolutely zero Japanese other than hello, good-bye and thank you.
You probably know sayonara. Instead, you can say the (borrowed) Japanese word baibai pronounced "bye bye"

Vowel pronunciation is important. Japanese has a syllabary, not alphabet. I just learned about pitch accent a week ago,

mrwunrfl

This language stutff is all OT, though. Have you figured out where to stay?

mrwunrfl

People who have translator devices handy:
front desk staff
taxi driver
drug store clerk
JR staff for an atypical question
others

much easier than 20 years ago to communicate